"Give Analysis the mission files as soon as you have downloaded them," Madeline instructed Birkoff as she removed her earpiece and turned to leave, cool as ever despite the past few hours of frantic work.
"Birkoff, I want to know were the false information came from," Operations ordered in his slightly gravely voice. "Backtrack all contacts to find who is responsible." He followed Madeline from Communications without a backward glance, assuming that, as usual, his orders would be carried out.
Birkoff rolled his head to relieve his neck muscles, replaced his glasses and set to work. Operations approached Van Access as the doors opened and Medical personnel moved briskly past him with gurneys to collect the wounded. Michael, with Nikita close behind him, followed the gurneys out shortly afterwards. They both looked worn and haggard, clear evidence that the mission had been a hard one. "Michael, report," Operations ordered shortly.
"The hostage was freed, but we lost Morris. Three others were wounded, two seriously. One might not make it." Michael’s voice, as usual, was soft, expressionless and controlled. His eyes had followed the medical personnel and their patients down the hall, only turning to face Operations when the others passed out of his sight, around a corner in the underground warren called Section.
Operations’ steely gaze took in Michael’s appearance and actions, evaluating everything about him. "Was the hostage harmed?" His question was more a statement, daring Michael to say ‘yes’ instead of ‘no.’
"He was slightly singed during his release," Michael stated softly, volunteering little more than the bare minimum required.
"He will recover?" Operations pursued, again, more statement than question.
"Yes." Michael met Operations’ steely gaze with his own, controlled stare.
"Report to debriefing," and Operations moved away down the softly lit corridor, leaving the others looking after him. Michael and Nikita exchanged glances, then moved off to return their ordinance to Walter before heading to debriefing.
In Medical, Madeline silently observed the doctors as they worked on the most critically wounded team member. They had been working intently for some time when one of the doctors left the treatment table and approached the silent, nearly motionless woman. "He is badly wounded. If we succeed in saving him, his motor skills will be permanently impaired. What do you want us to do?" the doctor asked.
"How badly impaired will he be?" Madeline asked in her cultured but emotionless voice. "He may learn to walk without support, but not well. His balance and coordination will be severely impaired. His left arm will have a restricted movement range since the rotator cup is irreparably damaged," the doctor answered her, not actually meeting her eyes. He knew what was coming from other patients he had treated while in Section.
"If he can’t recover fully, he will be of no use to us. Cancel him. Use a painless drug while he is unconscious so he won’t feel anything. He deserves that much." Madeline could have been discussing the weather instead of passing a death sentence; her voice held so little emotion within its cultured and musical tones that her companion wondered if she felt anything. Anything at all. He watched as she left through the frosted glass doors, then turned to carry out his orders. He hated this part of his job.
Birkoff backtracked the informants to find that one was on Bright Star’s payroll. Well, not their payroll, exactly. Bright Star was holding the man’s sister to coerce his delivering false information to Section One. It had done little good, because Bright Star had killed both of them shortly after he had delivered the false report. Section One’s casualty count increased from one to two dead. Madeline and Operations made plans for dinner, Michael and Nikita didn’t. Birkoff continued working at his computer station after everyone else had left for the evening. All in all, it was another day at the office.
Late that evening Birkoff pushed back from his computer, stood and stretched to relieve his cramped muscles. He glanced at his watch, surprised to see that it was after nine o’clock, then moved off to the cafeteria for something to eat. Dinner was long over when he arrived, so he scrounged a sandwich, glass of milk and some Oreos from Section Janitorial, not to be mistaken for Section Housekeeping, and carried his dinner to his quarters.
After eating, Birkoff turned on his video and popped "Gremlins" into his VCR. Roberta had given him the tape, telling him that she thought he’d enjoy the movie. It was supposed to have some good special effects and computer animation. It might be an amusing way to spend his evening. He certainly didn’t have anything else to do. He jumped full length onto his airbed, made himself comfortable, and started the tape. He was captivated from the first, dark scene. But the day’s long hours of intense concentration caught up to Birkoff, and he dozed off somewhere between the Gremlin frappe’ and the jet-powered lift chair.
A noise penetrated Birkoff’s sleep. Soft, growling sounds chittered through his hearing. It was dark in his room, the only light coming from his television’s blue screen and the observation window in his door. He raised his head and looked around, seeing nothing but blurred shadows. His glasses had fallen off while he slept; he felt around until he located them on his pillow and clumsily put them on. The shadows became sharper, but they were still shadows. But they moved and made sounds. No, they drifted and spoke in voices just outside his ability to hear. One voice was too high and buzzed, hurting his ears. The other was too low for him to understand and made him think of an avalanche. He didn’t know why, he had never witnessed or heard an avalanche, but he knew that was what the voice sounded like. He also knew that shadows didn’t talk unless they weren’t shadows, but people.
Birkoff turned ice cold. If he was needed for some priority mission, the Section operative would have simply turned on the room’s light and awakened him, not entered as shadows in the dark. But wait, people wouldn’t cast drifting shadows. They would be solid and move or stand still as the people who cast them moved or stood still. What was causing shadows that drifted backwards and forwards above the floor? Birkoff realized he was holding his breath, and exhaled. He took a deep breath and exhaled again, his resumed breathing cooling the burning sensation he had developed deep within his lungs. Sleep retreated from his mind, and he started to think more clearly.
Birkoff rolled carefully and silently off his bed, gathering his feet underneath himself in a crouch while he continued to watch the shadows. He froze in that position, watching and listening. So far, so good, they hadn’t noticed that he was awake. If he concentrated, he could almost hear words; he was becoming used to the speech patterns. He realized that the voices were speaking two to three times faster than people usually spoke which was one reason he couldn’t understand them. But he was sure that the voices were discussing him.
He knew that he had to get out of his room. If this was a practical joke, and someone was waiting in the corridor to see his reaction, he would just have to live with the jokes for the next few days. If it wasn’t a joke, he could be in real danger if Section had been breached or if an operative had turned. He knew more than anyone else in the world did about Section’s security, communications, and computers systems. He would be a very valuable hostage for any of Section’s enemies. And, if he were taken hostage, Operations would order his cancellation if he couldn’t be recovered VERY quickly.
Birkoff gathered himself to make a dash for his door, and quietly took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He jumped up and was half way to the door when he was enveloped by the shadows and frozen in midstride. He couldn’t feel anything. He couldn’t even feel his own body. He knew, absolutely, that this was no joke. He was jerked upward by the shadow and held off the ground to face the second shadow, level with two burning, red embers where its eyes should be… He tried to yell for help, but couldn’t speak. He couldn’t breathe, either, and the coldness returned as consciousness faded and he sagged limply within the shadow’s grip.
When Birkoff again regained consciousness, he was no longer in his quarters. He was no longer anywhere in Section. In fact, he had no idea where he was. He was cold, bone chillingly so, and he was being buffeted by ice cold winds. He appeared to be sitting astride a board or rail, behind someone he didn’t know. A smaller someone than he was, and his arms were around this someone’s waist, holding him securely in place on what ever he rode. He realized that he was travelling forward and passing through the air at a high speed caused the wind. The person before him, no, the GIRL before him realized that he was waking up and turned her head.
"Hang on! It’s a long way down!" she called over her shoulder as she patted his cold hands reassuringly.
"Who are you?" Birkoff shouted into the wind.
"I’m Gap, your personal driver and assistant. Sorry for the cold, but I couldn’t risk wrapping you in a blanket while you were sleeping!" the girl called back. "You might have strangled in the wind. We’ll be at our stop in just a few minutes."
"Where are you taking me?" Birkoff asked Gap through chattering teeth, speaking into her right ear. He was so cold that he was now beginning to shake uncontrollably.
"Not now, it’s too hard to talk," his driver said. But she pulled his arms more tightly around her and pulled him closer to her. Birkoff gratefully nestled closer to Gap. This way, he wasn’t quite as cold. But he certainly hoped that their trip would end soon.
They flew on for hours, it seemed, and then, just when he began to think he’d never be warm again, they began to descend. Birkoff just clung to Gap; his head was now buried in the angle made by her neck and shoulder to protect his face from the burning cold. The wind lessened, then stopped. The only sounds he heard were Gap’s and his breathing and some small, soft sounds that he vaguely recalled were crickets. A lone owl hooted softly in the distance.
Gap straightened, patting Birkoff’s hands and half turned. "If you will let go of me, I’ll help you off," she said cheerfully. When he stiffly released her waist, Gap hopped down to the ground. She had been sitting sidesaddle, not astride the rail. She then took Birkoff’s arm to steady him, tapped the rail twice and grasped it in her free hand. The rail lowered so that his feet touched the ground. "Easy, now. Step back, but be careful you don’t trip on my broom."
"Broom?" Birkoff managed to ask through his chattering teeth. He must not have heard Gap correctly. No one rode on a broom. No one COULD ride on a broom. It was impossible. But Gap was clearly holding a broom in her left hand and his arm in her right. He was hallucinating, that was it. Walter must have slipped some Tequila into his glass and he was drunk. Gap was a new janitor who was sweeping his room. Madeline must have decided to help out because he had been working so many extra hours lately. Yes, that was what was happening. He was over tired, Walter had decided to make him relax and he was now drunk.
"What would you ride on Halloween, Birkoff?" Gap asked cheerfully. "The Elder Witches should have made sure you were dressed in warmer clothes, though. They should have given you some gloves, too. You’re freezing," she said. Gap carefully set her broom aside, then took his left hand between both of her hands and rubbed it briskly for a minute or so, then repeated this process with his right hand. As she released his hand, Birkoff blinked at her, realizing suddenly that she was taller than he had expected from his broomride and tastefully dressed in a long, black velvet gown which moved gracefully as she moved. Her dress was cut shorter in front; he assumed this was to make it easier to ride her… broomstick. She was wearing black suede boots with medium heels and had a single, understated strand of black pearls around her throat and large, black pearl cabochon earrings. Her hazel eyes sparkled with laughter and her light brown hair was tousled around her shoulders, shaped by the wind.
As he looked up at Gap’s face, another young woman with auburn hair and green eyes walked up to them. She was also dressed in a black velvet gown, but hers swept around her ankles allowing occasional glimpses of black leather sandals and shapely ankles. Her hair fell upon her shoulders and down her back in glistening waves, and she had a gold chain with a large black opal clasped around her throat and another opal at each ear. There was a silver cat pin on her left shoulder, too. She was carrying a heavy, fur-lined cape that she draped around his shoulders, smiling at him as she fastened the cape at his throat. "I’m Adriana, Birkoff. Welcome to our Coven." Adriana’s voice was low and velvety in tone. Gap’s voice, on the other hand, was light and sparkling. Both of his companions seemed to be in good spirits, smiling at him and each other as they moved to each side of him and, placing their arms around him, guided him into a small tree grove and along a moonlit path.
Birkoff walked between Gap and Adriana as they moved along the forest pathway, trying to figure out where he was, who his companions were, and just what Walter had slipped him. He was beginning to think that he might just enjoy another hallucination like this. But he could do without the cold. He wasn’t very fond of being cold. One thing for sure, he liked having two pretty girls as his companions. They knew how to dress for Section, even if they were a bit formal about it, and he enjoyed having Adriana’s arm around his waist and Gap’s arm around his shoulders. Maybe…
The trio left the trees and entered a small meadow. The light was almost as bright as daylight and Birkoff realized that a full moon hung overhead in a crystal clear, star-studded night sky. His companions released him, Adriana stepping a little further into the meadow while Gap turned to him and asked, "Are you warmer, now?"
Birkoff nodded, then swallowed and stuttered "Y-yes. Thanks." He turned in a circle, looking around him at the meadow, the trees, and the two girls then he turned back to Gap. "How did you get me out of Section? Where are we? What do you want with me? Who are you?" He was beginning to think, now that his bones were thawing.
Gap smiled at him then turned her head and summoned Adriana with a graceful motion of her right hand. "I told you, I‘m Gap. I’m your driver." Her voice was soft, but full of suppressed laughter. She stepped backwards and turned to face Adriana, having stopped just behind him and to his right.
Adriana stopped just in front of Birkoff, tilting her head to look up at him with her amazingly green eyes and smiled. She reached out and touched his left cheek lightly, halfway as a mother might touch her child to judge whether or not he has a fever, halfway a light caress. "You are warmer, Birkoff. I’m sorry the Elders forgot how cold mortals become when they fly with us." He marveled, again, about how low and rich her voice sounded. "We need your help. Someone stole one of our Spellbooks, and used a computer to decipher it. Not knowing what he had, he released some ghouls to prey on children. The Elders used a divining pool to search for help and found you." She took his left arm and urged him forward into the moonlight, Gap close behind.
"Our sisters, Sage, Trouble and Puguita, are bringing a ghoul we caught last night. The Elders, Jayne, Northstar and CC are coming, and Robin will join us shortly, after she finishes her Incantation Finals. She was a little nervous, but I’m sure she’ll do fine, even if she was a little old when she began her studies."
Gap leaned down to murmur into Birkoff’s ear; "Robin is twenty-eight, which is old to be learning incantations. But she is a late bloomer. I’m fourteen and Adriana is sixteen. We’ve been full-fledged Witches since we were eight or nine." Birkoff glanced up at her, surprised she was so young and saw the laughter dancing in her hazel eyes. He smiled at her, not being able to help himself. He was beginning to enjoy this. He certainly hoped that Walter had a good supply of whatever he had given him. He definitely wanted to try this dream again.
Adriana stood on her toes and whispered into his left ear, "You aren’t dreaming, you know. You are with us, in a meadow surrounded by an Oak Forest. We are Witches, this is All Hallows Eve, and you are going to help us capture some ghouls so they won’t destroy your world." She stepped back and looked up at him with a serious expression. "Birkoff, it’s important that you understand and believe us. If you don’t, it could have very serious consequences."
Birkoff blinked, then looked to his right, where Gap stood and saw that she was nodding, her expression was very serious and he saw worry in her eyes. He looked up at Gap for a long moment, then looked down at Adriana for another long instant. "This isn’t Walter’s doing?" he finally asked, his voice now having a slight squeak. Gap and Adriana gravely shook their heads. He swallowed convulsively, and tried again. "I think you had better start at the beginning if you want me to cooperate."
"Come into the meadow. You need hot food and drink. We’ll tell you everything after you eat." Adriana smiled at him as she again took his arm and led him to the clearings’ center where Gap motioned for him to sit on a fallen log over which she had placed a folded blanket. Birkoff wondered where she had gotten the blanket, because all she had with her was the broom she carried securely in her right hand.
Adriana knelt and opened a basket that he hadn’t noticed in the shadows and pulled out a thermos, cups and some bowls. She opened the thermos and poured some liquid into three cups held by Gap, closed the thermos and carefully set it aside. Adriana took one of the cups from Gap, held it between both of her hands and bowed her head over it for a moment. She murmured in a voice too low and fast for Birkoff to understand, then raised her head to look at him and ceremoniously offered him the cup as she knelt before him. Not knowing why he did so, Birkoff leaned over and accepted the cup with both hands, silently nodding his thanks as he warmed his hands around its smooth sides. Gap silently handed a second cup to Adriana as she knelt beside her in front of Birkoff. Both girls smiled quietly at him, then raised their cups and sipped the contents as if to show him that it was safe to drink. He raised his cup and was enveloped by a spicy, fragrant steam unlike anything he had ever smelled before. He inhaled deeply, almost hungrily, then sipped carefully from the hot liquid. He held the fluid in his mouth for a moment, enjoying the wetness and flavor, then swallowed and sipped again before smiling at his companions.
They smiled at him, and Adriana bent to pick up a bowl, removed its cover and handed it to Birkoff along with a spoon. "This is a stew. You’ll need the energy, and that sandwich you ate earlier won’t be enough." Birkoff was startled, suddenly realizing that Adriana must have been one of the shadows that he had seen drifting in his room. Gap must have been the other shadow. He looked to Adriana’s left where Gap knelt, and saw her nodding at him. Birkoff shrugged slightly, took another sip from his cup and placed it carefully on the log to his right. He sniffed the stew and was surprised by the aroma as well as the fact that his mouth began to water as soon as his nose registered the rich smells wafting from the bowl. He took the spoon in his hand and began to eat the thick stew, realizing that he was ravenous. Section provided nutritional food, but it certainly didn’t have the wonderful flavors contained in this simple dish. Adriana and Gap settled to the ground and ate from their own bowls. Gap pulled some bread from the basket and handed Birkoff and Adriana pieces she tore from the loaf. This, too, tasted better than any Birkoff remembered eating in Section.
Following their meal, the girls cleared the dishes away, Adriana offering and Birkoff accepting more of the spicy drink he had enjoyed so much. Birkoff vaguely thought that if they were drugging him, at least he enjoyed the process. Gap and Adriana exchanged amused glances as he thought this, then smiled at him in their amusement. Birkoff suddenly realized that they were able to understand his thoughts, then it occurred to him that Madeline could use their talents. Adriana raised her left eyebrow at him and shook her head slowly from right to left and back again.
"Madeline is lost to us," a new voice said from behind Gap and a newcomer stepped into his sight. "I’m Sage." Adriana and Gap smiled greetings and turned back to Birkoff, who was looking appreciatively at the new arrival. Sage, like the others, was dressed in a long, black velvet gown. This one had slits from hem to knee separating the skirt into four equal panels. She also wore a silver and black lame’ cord tied loosely around her slim waist. Her dress had a high, upstanding collar and a large silver and onyx pendant hung from a heavy silver chain around her neck, with matching earrings swinging from her ears which were nearly hidden by her long, dark brown hair.
Sage seated herself next to Birkoff on his log and looked steadily into his brown eyes with her own hazel ones. "Madeline was born to one of our sisters, but she was kept from her birthright by her parents. When our Elders managed to find her, she had been damaged beyond our abilities to help her. She had also been taken into Section One, and, we think, she is happier there than she could be with us. We watch over her from time to time, just to be sure that she is well, but we don’t contact her or let her see us. It is safer for everyone that she remains ignorant of her heritage. You are another matter."
Birkoff was beginning to think that Sage was slightly unbalanced, but unbalanced in a very interesting way. Sage’s smile, along with the quicksilver chuckles from Gap and Adriana, told him that she, too, understood his thoughts. Birkoff blushed and dropped his gaze to the cup that he still cradled in his hands. "You can read my mind, can’t you?" he asked softly.
"Yes, Birkoff, we can. But only the thoughts that run most strongly through your active mind, not your memories or buried secrets. We don’t mean to pry, but you have very strong projection ability. That is part of your birthright." He edged backwards from Sage, not far, but enough to indicate his discomfort. Adriana placed a hand on his knee, and Birkoff was somehow comforted by that gesture. For some reason, he felt sure that he was safe with Gap and Adriana, but Sage disturbed him. Gap rose to seat herself on his right side, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Sage observed the other girls’ actions and Birkoff’s reaction to them without comment.
Birkoff thought about what Sage and the others had said, he thought about the apparent ease with which they had spirited him out of Section, the fact he had ridden on a broom. The ghouls mentioned, but not explained, yet, by Adriana, Gap’s cheeriness and apparent love of adventure along with her casual but sincere concern for his comfort. Something, his instincts he guessed, told him that she was not only his driver, but that Gap and Adriana were also his protectors. He suddenly smiled, as the thought struck him that Nikita should see him now… Surrounded by three beautiful, young women, who were interested in him as… him, not as a computer geek. The trio of self-proclaimed witches suddenly giggled. ‘Oops’ he thought, ‘they can tell what I’m thinking.’ Gap’s hand tightened slightly on his shoulder, and he suddenly knew that it was O.K. for him to have these thoughts.
"It’s alright, Birkoff," Gap said softly in his ear. We did give you a potion that will let you know what we’re thinking. It was in your drink. We all use it to help with our work. And you’re right, I do think you are fun to be with." Birkoff knew she had avoided using the term "cute" because, somehow, she knew he hated it when applied to himself. "Cute" was for children, if you could stand them, and animals. He also knew that it was nice to be able to share this with someone.
"Adriana said you needed my help with some ghouls," Birkoff stated to Sage. "What, exactly, are ghouls?" He might as well get down to business. He was here and he was pretty sure that he was going to stay here until whatever it was they were planning was finished. So, he might as well get started. He sensed the agreement and approval of his three companions.
"Ghouls are some of the undead. They aren’t vampires or zombies, but children who were drowned by their parents at the dark of the moon and buried in unhallowed ground. They can be reanimated with Black Magic and, once brought back, they are ghouls. They then require living flesh to remain animated, people preferably, but animals will do." Adriana’s voice was soft, with a slightly sad timber. "They avoid strong sunlight and move around mostly at night, but they can move during the day, if they need to do so. A big problem is that they can gain control over the living if they draw blood when they bite but don’t manage to kill their victim. Their saliva carries some form of bacteria or virus, but they need direct blood contact to spread it." Birkoff shuddered as he listened to Adriana.
"We don’t have a cure, either," Gap added. "If someone is bitten by a ghoul, they have to be killed or they will eventually turn into a ghoul themselves." All of them shuddered at Gap’s words.